I really enjoyed this amusing story and just had to share it with you.

My singing bird clock, hung near a window in my upstairs bedroom, has given me hours of enjoyment. One morning, however, I realized it must be defective. Every time the mourning dove “called” to mark the 7 a.m. hour, it not only “rang” once, it did it twice!

The next day, the same thing happened. Surely something was wrong.

I finally solved the puzzle when I looked out my window at a nearby tree. There in the branches was a mourning dove answering my clock like a singing Casanova.

Since then, I purchased a second singing bird clock that features birds from around the world. It’s a refreshing change from the familiar sounds I hear in my backyard.

The first time this clock went off, however, the regular avian chatter in the yard came to an immediate halt. Hushed twittering followed the silence. It was as if these birds were saying, “[I]Who[/b] was that?”

Contributed by Donna Walsh
Simi Valley California
Birds and Blooms, August/ September 2001

[This message has been edited by Cathy Sears (edited August 20, 2001).]

Here's another one from the same issue of Birds and Blooms

SKRRITCH…blur…skrritch…blur…skrritch…blur. It was a warm summer afternoon when I heard this commotion coming from my neighbor’s house. I put down my book to see what the noise was all about.

Nothing seemed unusual until I spotted a pair of European starlings flying from a cedar tree to the second story rain gutter. Then the fun began.

One hopped along the edge to the downspout and disappeared. Skrritch… Then a flurry of dark wings burst out the bottom of the spout, as if it were shot from a cannon.

The second bird quickly followed suit, making the scratching noise down the 20-foot drop before flying back into the sunlight.

It seemed these startlings had an afternoon pass to their own bird-sized amusement park. Over and over again they flew from the tree to the roof, then down the pipe again.

That day was the only time I saw this amazing show, but it kept their audience of one spellbound.

Barbara Wells
Marinett, Wisconsin

Today I cleaned out the smaller Avery, and changed things around. The long log on the floor now rests with one end up on a ledge, jammed in so it can't fall. I swapped feeders over between the seen and water, giving them a larger dish to bath in.
Sitting on the garden seat, watching the antics as the approached this 'new' bird bath was hillarous. They were also fun to watch as they explored the 'new' log.

In my larger avery, I have a cockatiel breeding box. Three weeks previous, I had discovered babies almost ready to leave the nest.

A few days later 2 did, and they are pied.One is grey with spots of yellow all over it's back, very pretty. I had bred one like it a few years ago, so am delighted to have another one.

On the weekend I discovered number 3 baby was still in the nesting box.
It's head had been attacked, so I assumed Mother was getting very impatient, and wanted it out. Somehow, it hadn't figured out how to leave.!
so I opened the top and gently lifted it out, and carried it into the flight part of the avery.

I was thankful it was a dull day, so no bright sunlight for its eyes that only knew the darkness of a box. Even so, it was blinking at it's new found light.

I lifted it on my finger up to the perch. It didn't know what to do, as it had only ever been on the bottom of a box. I coaxed it on, and it sat gazing in wonderment at it's new world.

I was cleaning the avery out at the time, so was able to spend time with it, helping it off the wire netting, as it hadn't a clue how to anything.
Trying to land in the tree was breathtaking, wings everywhere, just like a baby taking it's first walking steps.

Of course the other adult cockatiels were very protective, excited at the new addition, and the noise was deafening with 14 others.

I came back later and checked on it several times.

the last time, it was down on the newely laid hay, with one of the adults. Underneath the hay was a guineapig moving about. Quite an hilarious site!

Next morning I went down to check, nothing on the floor anywhere. I finally looked up, and there was the new baby on the perch looking at me!

It was home.

Loved that, Zita!

I am an avid bird watcher - here in Calgary, Alberta. I can spot a humming bird a mile away, and over the years, I have spotted many different kinds of birds.

However, I was quite unprepared, for a sighting that ocurred just the other day.

I was riding my bicycle down a city street near our house, when out of the corner of my eye, I noticed some kind of long white streak, moving up in the air, towards the clouds.

Upon closer examination; I saw, (much to my amazement), that it was a little sparrow, with a length of bathroom tissue about 3 feet long, in his beak!

Did that ever look funny!

Why would a bird do such a thing? And, where did the sparrow get this from?

Last I saw of this bird; he or she had landed on an attic vent, with their payload, and I suspect there is a nest up there.

Is there something I don't know about birds?

This was really odd!

[ June 16, 2002, 09:33 PM: Message edited by: DavidTBattler ]

The sparrow found a fantastic nest liner!

Wow, those babies are going to live in luxurary!